Page 15 - CEN 13 Apr.indd

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wholesale changes in construction technologies in
recent decades, resulting in continual change and
improvements in traditional materials and techniques.
Technical change is already occurring in construction
and automated prototypes – for example, for masonry
construction – already exist.
Mechanisation has taken on an increasingly import role
in manufacturing. Today we have (small and compact
in size) ‘mega‘ computers that require a skeleton staff to
ensure processes run smoothly, with the system overseeing
increasingly mechanised procedures, while spewing out
reports at the touch of a button.
Automation, with robots to do the drudge work, has been
around since the 60s, performing tasks that humans find
dangerous or dreary. Robots perform with consistent
speed and precision, never calling in sick, going on strike
or violating company rules. They can also work numerous
back-to-back shifts without claiming overtime.
Increased mechanisation has ensured faster deployment
times, increased return on investment (ROI) and reduced
paperwork, while offering substantial cost savings by
improving overall control (predictability) andmanagement
of processes. This has been brought about through the
installation of advanced production monitoring software
programs, running from a central point, often situated
off-site (remote).
“SKF’s Remote Monitoring Services combines SKF’s
condition monitoring tools and on-line systems to
collect data, SKF experts to analyse data, and the
Internet to communicate management of machine
health for informed decision-making.”
Samantha Joubert, Marketing Communications Co-ordinator –
SKF South Africa
robots worldwide exceed 1.1-million – in an effort to
increase production.
Notwithstanding this, OEMs have become more people-
centred and so too, the great gender-divide is narrowing
as, over the past number of years, an increasing number
of women have joined the industry, with numerous
plants employing the fairer sex, because they are seen
as more detail orientated and dextrous when it comes to
manual assembly. And in South Africa, equal opportunity
and BEEE policies now form a vital part of most
company charters.
However, robot factory workers are not without their
restrictions. In their most basic forms, industrial robots
are simple automatons. They require humans to program
them to perform a simple task and they repeat that task
over and over again, until they are programmed to stop.
On the other hand, tasks that require decision-making,
creativity, adaptation and on-the-job learning, are still the
domain of human beings.
So what does the future hold? Despite the economic
downturn in 2008/2009, the International Federation
of Robotics (IFR) observed a worldwide surge in
industrial robot demand in 2010. According to IFR
estimates, this year will see the population of industrial
Operational costs
Equipment purchases as investments are constantly
evaluated to determine which purchase is better value
for a business. Performance, capacity to do the job,
and cost, are all part of the decision making process.
However, the purchase price cost is only one factor in
‘real lifetime‘ cost.
Every bottom line ultimately rests on the cost of
producing a product, including the peripheral costs
that go into the production thereof. For one, recall
how much fuel cost ten years ago. According to the
Department of Energy (http://www.energy.gov.za) , the
basic fuel price (BFP) in 2003 was: diesel, with 0.3%
sulphur, cost an average of 179.595 cents a litre and
diesel with 0.5% sulphur, an average of 186.537 cents
per litre.
Today BFP is listed as: diesel with 0.5% sulphur
788.630 cents per litre and diesel with 0.005% sulphur,
793.030 cents per litre. (The BFP formula reflects
the realistic cost of importing a litre of product from
international refineries with products of a similar quality,
compared to local South African specifications on a
sustainable basis.)
Nowadays, within the SA construction industry (3.9%
GDP), mining sector (10% GDP) and transport arena
(transport, storage and communication 9% GDP), fuel
accounts for about 40% of operational costs.
Needless to point out, the yo-yoing (but ever upward)
cost of fuel is crippling and shutting down smaller
operations, while bigger companies are forced to
increase their costs accordingly and pass them down
the line to consumers.
So it’s inevitable that technology that can reduce fuel
consumption is uppermost in any manufacturer’s
future strategy.